Demon Child

The next morning we sat side by side meditating together in Serene Meditation, the pavilion I’d had built to replace Serpent Concubine in the Northern Heavens. We had half an hour before the first hearings in the Hall of Dark Justice, and were using the respite to rebuild our energy. We didn’t know exactly when the demons would attack; the memory card only carried basic information on the demons’ plans and didn’t have any details on the Western army or a projected timeline. Zara was analysing further, but there was a renewed sense of urgency around us as people prepared.
The chi thrummed between us, a satisfying feeling of togetherness that nevertheless distressed John and made him slightly lose his concentration. We shouldn’t have been able to do that.
Yue Gui approached across the stepping stones in the pond in front of the pavilion, and gracefully fell to one knee on the open timber veranda. John opened one eye but didn’t address her, and she knelt waiting.
‘What, Ah Yue?’ I eventually said.
‘My Lord. My Lady. You have been immediately ordered to the Azure Dragon’s Palace Under the Sea.’
John snapped open his eyes and I sat straighter.
‘Both of us?’ John said.
Yue rose and nodded. ‘Yes.’
‘What, now?’ I said.
‘Right now.’
‘Is this a joke?’ John said. ‘Hell is about to attack and he sends us to have a tea ceremony with the Dragon?’
‘I know,’ she moaned. ‘But it’s from the Jade Emperor himself. He won’t leave you two alone.’
John and I shared a look. He’d suspected for a while that the Jade Emperor was dragging me all over creation to ensure I’d never be strong enough to take the Elixir of Immortality, and I was starting to believe it.
John pulled himself to his feet and summoned his walking stick. ‘Notify Emma’s maid that she’ll need to dress up.’
‘No need, Father,’ Yue Gui said. ‘The Dragon himself contacted me and said that this does not require any regalia. It is a private matter and your usual,’ she smiled slightly, ‘scruffiness will suffice.’
‘Did the Dragon say why we’re being dragged over there?’ I said.
She shook her head.
‘Can you do it?’ I asked John.
‘I can.’ His face went rigid with concentration as he warned the Dragon of the state we were in. His expression softened. ‘He’s ready for us.’
He nodded to Yue Gui. ‘Reschedule the hearings, Mei Mei. We will recommence as soon as we return.’
Yue Gui glowed with pleasure at the affectionate familiarity of her father calling her ‘little sister’, and headed back to her office in the administrative section of the palace.
John held his hand out to me. ‘I think I will have a talk to the Jade Emperor about this.’
I took his hand and gazed into his eyes. ‘Make sure you take me with you. I want to speak to him as well.’
His eyes crinkled up as the world changed around us. ‘Don’t scare him too much.’
I came around on a brilliant peacock-blue couch in a room of shining crystal walls. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, looking like something grown rather than crafted, the light gleaming from within its transparent tentacle-like arms. John was sitting cross-legged across from me on another sofa, his eyes closed in meditation.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes. ‘How long this time?’
He took a deep breath in and out. ‘Forty minutes.’
‘Shit.’
‘Language, Emma. You insult our host.’
‘He’s not even here.’
The Dragon surged through the crystal wall in huge blue True Form. The walls weren’t crystal; they were the interface between air and water. ‘Yes, I am.’
‘Hey, Qing Long,’ I said. ‘Take human form so I can give you a hug.’
He folded up into his tall slim human form and held his arms out. ‘Deal.’
I went to him and embraced him around his waist—the highest I could reach—and he kissed the top of my head. He turned to John with me still in his arms. ‘You guys ready?’ His voice changed to patient exasperation. ‘Oh, Ah Wu, look at your feet.’
I sighed with similar exasperation. The stitches had come open again and blood stained the bandages.
‘This had better be good, Ah Qing, we have a war to prepare for,’ John growled. He picked up his walking stick and gingerly stepped off the couch to stand next to us.
Qing Long released me and I went to John and put my arm around his waist. He rubbed my back affectionately.
The Dragon bowed slightly and put his hands in his turquoise and silver embossed sleeves. ‘It’s not good. It’s very bad. But I think, in the circumstance, it is the right thing to do.’
John’s expression darkened. ‘What is?’
‘I can’t say. You’ll see when you see. Just come with me and all will be made clear.’
‘This is all very mysterious and disturbing,’ I said as I walked between them down the corridor. It appeared as a normal breezeway with columns and a roof, but instead of open walls the sides were the water–air interface. Our reflections followed us as we walked, and flashes of brilliance lit the other side, blurred by the water.
At the end of the breezeway, the Dragon held one hand out. The water interface in front of us shimmered and he walked through. ‘This way.’
We followed him down a wide series of steps and he opened a pair of gates at the end. We entered what appeared to be a cell complex, with barred doors and long corridors. I stopped.
‘Don’t worry, Emma, these aren’t cells,’ John said, reading my mind.
‘This is my storeroom,’ the Dragon said, leading us to the end of the corridor.
As we passed the cells I saw inside: it was a treasure house. Each cell had shelves around the walls; some held pieces of Celestial and mundane jade, carved into delicate sculptures that enhanced their value; others held ancient gold Buddhist icons and priceless Imperial porcelain.
Another pair of doors, this time wood and red, opened before us and we went down a narrower set of steps.
Qing Long stopped at the bottom and turned to eye me. ‘I would appreciate it if you would not tell anyone that this is here, and what’s in it.’
‘You have my word,’ I said.
The Dragon nodded, his turquoise hair shining in the reflected light of the crystals illuminating the tunnel. ‘Thank you.’
He led us through another barred gate and generated a ball of light so I could see. This tunnel was dark and featureless, with large solid wood doors at regular intervals on either side. The light didn’t penetrate to the corners, putting us in a pool of brightness with the darkness around us.
Qing Long stopped at the end of the tunnel and put his hand on a door that was embossed with the circular motif of the Blue Dragon. The door split vertically into two pieces, which slid smoothly sideways. We went into a brightly lit room that was four metres to a side and contained only a carved wooden box, forty centimetres wide, standing on a metre-tall pillar.
‘The Jade Emperor says to give this to you,’ the Dragon said. ‘In your current state, it’s probably a good idea.’
He opened the lid of the casket and John and I both took a step back. The casket contained a cage of what appeared to be Celestial Jade, the same size as the interior of the casket and sitting flush with its walls.
‘Oh, dear Lord, is that what I think it is?’ I said.
‘What are you doing with one of these?’ John said, his voice a horrified rasp.
The Dragon put the lid back on the casket. ‘This is the safest place it could be.’
‘You should destroy it,’ John said.
‘I was as distressed as you are when the Celestial gave it to me four hundred years ago, and I wanted to destroy it. The Celestial told me not to; he said there would be a time when such a thing is needed.’ He lifted the casket in both hands. ‘And now is the time. Take True Form in this and you can heal without risk.’
‘You should have told me about this when my feet were first injured. The demons are preparing to attack now,’ John said.
The Dragon dropped his head slightly. ‘The Jade Emperor suggested I give it to you three days ago and I ignored him.’ He put one hand on top of the casket as he held it with the other. ‘I didn’t want to see you trapped inside this awful thing.’
‘And now the Jade Emperor’s changed it to an order,’ John said.
‘I know, I know,’ the Dragon said with resignation. ‘Obey the Celestial, he knows what he’s doing.’
‘No,’ I said softly.
John took a step forward and accepted the casket from the Dragon, his face grim.
‘No!’ I said. ‘We can’t risk this.’
‘Enter it and rest here,’ the Dragon said. ‘You will be safe under the sea.’
‘I will go to the Grotto,’ John said. ‘I will reap the most benefit in the heart of my Mountain.’
The Dragon nodded. ‘Good idea.’ He ducked slightly to gaze into John’s eyes; he was a good head taller. ‘Let me come to ensure you aren’t imprisoned by a demon seeking advancement.’ He put his hand on John’s shoulder. ‘I’ll watch you, Ah Wu.’
‘Emma can watch me. You have more important things to do.’
‘And I don’t,’ I said. ‘I can sit with him for as long as it takes.’
The Dragon glanced at me, seeing the lie, then obviously relented and nodded.
He stood more upright and turned to me. ‘He won’t be able to do anything while he’s in it. He can’t call or travel or carry.’ He held his hand out and one of his AI phones appeared in it, slim and blue–silver. ‘Go down with him and watch him, and the minute you think anything is wrong, contact me immediately. I’ll be right there.’
‘Thanks, Dragon,’ I said, my voice small. ‘God, this is such a bad idea.’
‘And it’s not one of yours for a change,’ the Dragon said with grim humour. He turned to John. ‘Let me know when you enter, and also when you leave. I’ll be on alert while you’re in it.’
‘Thank you, Ah Qing,’ John said, and gave the Dragon a clumsy one-handed embrace while he held the casket with the other. ‘I’ll be very glad to have my feet back.’
‘My pleasure,’ the Dragon said. ‘Please don’t tell anyone it exists. Its presence imperils us all.’
‘Hopefully very soon it will be destroyed,’ John said.
‘Hopefully you are right,’ the Dragon said.

‘Tiger.’
‘About time you answered,’ I said. ‘I’ve been trying to talk to you forever!’
‘This had better be fucking good, I’m busy.’
‘Do you have time for a simple question?’
‘How simple?’
‘Can you synthesise two metric tons of weapons-grade steel in the next eight weeks?’
‘Two thousand kilos?’
‘Yep.’
‘Damn. Let me think. Um . . . no. Number One could . . . No. Sorry, Emma, can’t be done. I can’t free anybody up for that amount of time, and with a couple of my biggest guys working on it . . .’ He thought for a moment. ‘No. I can’t spare them, not unless you can’t find another way.’
‘Okay. I thought that would be the case, but it was worth a try. I’ll give my connections on the Earthly a call. Do you know anyone who sells this stuff?’
‘Of course not, we make our own. We’re the last people you should ask.’
‘Could you provide me with a smaller quantity of Celestial-weapons-grade steel with energy spun through it to make it more effective against demons?’
‘How much of that would you need?’
‘Probably a hundred kilos to start off with.’
‘I can put my Number Three and Number Five on that—should take about three days . . . No, wait, Number Three’s still in Russia, so about a week. You can have it faster if you provide the raw steel for Five to work with after you’ve bought your big lot. Satisfactory?’
‘Thanks,’ I said, noting it down. ‘That’s all I need for now.’
‘Do you know—’
‘Yes, I know I sound like him,’ I said. ‘Bye, Tiger.’
‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Why are you asking for this now? We sent you a bunch of steel . . .’ I heard papers shuffling. ‘Not long ago.’
‘Wait . . . are you actually at your desk?’
He sounded sheepish. ‘Maybe. So the steel. What happened to it all?’
‘I’ve had the forge working nonstop, and some of the steel was wasted on the materials-fusion experiments with the Phoenix’s people.’
‘How did that work out? Ceramic would make an excellent edge. Much sharper, and would hold the edge for significantly longer.’
‘It didn’t. The ceramic was too brittle—one good hit and it was gone; and when the steel flexed it shattered.’
‘Carbon fibre?’
‘Major fail on that one: much too soft, completely destroyed the edge.’
‘Well, damn. Okay then, send the steel over to me when you’ve bought it and I’ll put a couple of my boys onto the energy enhancement.’ He shuffled papers again. ‘Yep, should be possible, but send it fast because we’re heavily occupied with war preparations.’
‘I know. All of you Winds are flat out—hell, even you’re being productive. Just hold a minute. There.’
‘What?’
‘Marked it in my diary: Tiger at his desk. Is that an unofficial holiday in the West?’
‘No, it’s a day of mourning because I’m not in the harem. Fuck it, it’s more fun in there anyway. Bye, Emma,’ he said, and hung up.
‘Wei?’
‘Simone, where are you? You’re supposed to be here for this call to Monica.’
My mobile phone dinged with a text message and I picked it up to see: Leo.
‘I can’t come right now,’ Simone said. ‘I’m stuck outside the student accommodation office, they’re running late for my interview. If I leave now I won’t have a place in the residences. Can’t it wait?’
‘No, I’ve made arrangements with her family so that she’d be in to speak to us. We haven’t talked to her in ages.’
‘I know, Emma, but I really can’t leave! Look, as soon as I have it all settled here I’ll pop over to the Philippines and see her, that’d be much better anyway. Oh, my number’s up, I have to go. Say hello to her for me, will you? Tell her I love her. Bye.’
She hung up. I read Leo’s text.
Sry can’t come up rght now stuck @ Singpre with orphans, gov’t being trble w ID docs. Will talk to M next time, k?
Not even John was able to come; he was in a meeting with the Generals about the defence of Hell that had already gone an hour over time and looked like taking most of the afternoon.
I dialled Monica’s number.
‘Hello?’
‘Hello, is Monica there?’ I said.
‘Who is asking?’
‘It’s Emma Donahoe.’
‘Oh! Oh! Yes, ma’am, sorry, ma’am.’
I sighed with exasperation. ‘I’m not ma’am. Just call me Emma. Monica’s part of the family!’
‘Yes, ma’am. Just a second, I’ll get Monica.’
I heard a torrent of Tagalog, many excited voices on the other end of the line, then Monica came on.
‘Ma’am.’ Her voice was thin and weak.
‘Oh, Monica,’ I said. ‘I’m so sorry this happened.’
‘It’s God’s will, ma’am.’
‘Will everybody stop with the ma’am business! Just Emma. Please.’
‘You’re a queen, ma’am.’ Her voice became breathless. ‘I knew that Mr Chen was a special man, but when Marcus told me . . . I never knew. Marcus explained that even though Mr Chen doesn’t say much, and most of the time doesn’t seem much, . . . he’s a king—or more like an angel, a Chinese angel. I am very privileged to have been a part of such a noble family. I never would have met Marcus if it hadn’t been for Mr Chen and his friend Mr Tiger. I have Marcus, I have my family, I am so happy. Oh! My sister’s daughter is pregnant, she’ll be having the baby soon, so much excitement.’ She sounded genuinely delighted. ‘How are Miss Simone and Mister Leo? Are they well?’
I winced. ‘They were supposed to come and talk to you, but Simone’s held up organising her university accommodation in Tokyo—’
‘University! That’s wonderful! I have nieces and nephews that are going to university, the first time in our family. And it’s because of your generosity, ma’am, that we can afford for them to go. They will do great things, just like Miss Simone. One of them is even studying to be a doctor! We are so proud. What will Simone study?’
‘Marine biology. She’ll be learning to save the oceans.’
‘Of course, since Mr Chen is . . .’ She hissed with restrained laughter. ‘What he is. Please tell her I said hello.’
‘I’m sorry she couldn’t speak to you.’
‘No! She’s doing important things. It’s fine, it’s fine.’
‘Leo’s running some orphanages all over Asia. He’s stuck in Singapore arranging for some children to be looked after and couldn’t get away, but he sends his best wishes.’
‘I always knew he would do great things. You know, the first time I saw him, he scared me to death. And the first time I found out . . . about him . . . I thought he was . . .’ She hesitated. ‘Sinful? I don’t know the English word. But then to see him care for Simone and protect all of us . . . I think that God has a special place in his heart for a noble man like Leo.’
‘I agree completely.’
‘How is Mr Chen?’
‘He couldn’t come and talk to you, he’s off doing . . . king stuff,’ I said. ‘He’s defending all of us.’
‘I know, I understand, I understand, he’s always been so important.’ Her voice filled with amusement. ‘You’d never know it from his clothes. I hope you and Leo are making him wear something nice.’
‘Hey, this is Mr Chen we’re talking about,’ I said with similar amusement. ‘Anything he wears is immediately scruffy no matter how new it is.’
‘I know!’ She giggled. ‘And you, ma’am? Are you happy?’ Her voice became mischievous. ‘Are you two married yet? I expect many children from both of you, you know. They would be like my own grandchildren.’ She sighed with bliss. ‘I only wish I could last a little longer and have the chance to see you be a mother and Mr Chen be a father again. That, I think, was the happiest time of his life, when he had Miss Michelle and little Simone . . . Oh!’ She sounded horrified. ‘But you make him happy too, I didn’t mean—’
‘I know what you mean, and he’s said that it was a happy time for him as well, and you helped him and Michelle to make it happy. He says he’s been more blessed in the time you’ve been with him than any other time in his very long life.’
She dropped her voice. ‘You say too much, ma’am.’
‘I’m a better person for having known you, Monica. All of us are.’
‘Thank you. Um . . .’ She choked on the words. ‘I think I need to go now. I’ll put Marcus on.’ Her voice thickened even more. ‘Thank you so much for calling me, ma’am, it means so much to me . . .’
She obviously broke down, and the receiver filled with the sound of Tagalog again. Then Marcus spoke. ‘Thank you, ma’am. She’s crying, but smiling, and she needs to rest.’
‘I’ll try to have Simone and Leo talk to her soon, okay?’
‘That would be wonderful, ma’am. Thank you for calling.’
There was more Tagalog, and the phone disconnected.
I leaned back in my office chair, pulled out a couple of tissues, wiped my eyes, and turned back to the weapons inventory spreadsheets.
The meeting between the demons and the Celestial was held the next day. The Demon King sent his Number One so John was obliged to send Er Lang, a Celestial of matching rank. Number One had demanded that they meet one on one with no Retainers, so Er Lang took Zara with him, as jewellery, to relay, and we watched the meeting from Yanluo Wang’s office in Hell.
After the bows and formalities had taken place, Er Lang and Number One sat at a table on the middle of the causeway. They spoke for a tedious five minutes about families and happenings on both Planes, then settled into silence as each waited for the other to broach the subject.
Er Lang finally relented and pulled a scroll from the side of the table. ‘I have been directed by the Celestial to request that the four humans who have completed their sentences be returned.’
Number One’s expression remained carefully blank. ‘There are no humans who have completed their sentences.’
‘There are four,’ Er Lang said, pushing the scroll at Number One.
Number One didn’t look at it. ‘We do not have any humans to return to you.’
‘You must return them. That is the agreement that you have with the Celestial.’
Number One rose and pushed his chair back. ‘Come and get them.’
‘We do not wish to go to war with you,’ Er Lang said without rising. ‘You were soundly defeated last time. Do not repeat your mistake.’
Number One grinned menacingly. ‘Guns don’t hurt us.’
‘We don’t use guns.’
‘No,’ Number One said. ‘But we do.’
John’s fingers twitched on the table next to me and I put my hand on top of his to still them. He inclined his head slightly in thanks without looking away from the transmission.
Er Lang pushed his chair back and rose, then summoned his halberd and held it upright next to him. ‘You will defer to the authority of the Celestial, demon, or face the consequences.’
‘What the hell are you doing, Number Two?’ John said.
Number One summoned a similar weapon. ‘We do not defer to turtle eggs,’ he said with relish.
Er Lang’s halberd was a blur as he swung it straight at Number One’s head. Number One blocked it and pushed it down, then spun his own weapon and drove the pointed butt into Er Lang’s throat.
John jumped to his feet and leaned on the table to stare at the transmission with astonishment. ‘What the fuck?’
Number One ripped the point of halberd out and blood gushed from Er Lang’s throat. Er Lang tottered for a minute, eyes wide and breath gurgling through the throat wound, then fell sideways. The transmission blinked out and Er Lang appeared on the floor of Yanluo Wang’s office. We knelt next to him and John summoned a pad to put over the wound.
‘You’d better have a very good reason for this, Number Two,’ John said to him.
Er Lang’s breath bubbled through the blood in his throat. He attempted to speak, and made more horrible gurgling sounds. He changed to silent speech.
There was a small memory device attached to the point. They are ready to go to war and will attack soon. This memory device has intelligence on their plans and an outline of their strength. You need to keep me alive until you can remove it. If I die, it’s gone.
John checked the wound. ‘This isn’t fatal. He’s missed your carotid and pierced your trachea.’
He held one hand over Er Lang’s throat and the blood lifted free. Er Lang gasped with relief, the breath whistling through the wound in his throat. He panted until blood started to well from the wound and blocked it again.
‘We need a tracheotomy tube to clear your breathing.’ John looked around for Yanluo Wang, who had already gone. ‘We’re finding one. He told you to attack him?’
He said to make it look good.
‘You didn’t. He defeated you easily in front of everybody.’
I wasn’t expecting him to be quite as good as he is. He’s faster than me. He did defeat me easily. His breath sucked through the blood. Help, Ah Wu, I’m drowning!
John lifted the blood free again and Er Lang panted with relief. He turned his head to see me. What did you teach them?
‘Nothing,’ I said. Er Lang’s dog appeared and pushed me aside. ‘The Jade Emperor restricted me from teaching.’
‘This is all my fault!’ Zara wailed from her ring on Er Lang’s right hand. ‘Never ask me to be jewellery again. I am bad luck!’
Just take the device out of me so I can go! Er Lang said, his breath still bubbling.
John studied the wound. ‘I can’t see it. I’ll have to open you up further to find it.’
Er Lang’s dog whined.
Zara rose from her setting in a ring on Er Lang’s finger. ‘Let me do it,’ she said, her voice hoarse with emotion.
She shrank as she swept through the air towards the wound, then disappeared into Er Lang’s throat. His face went rigid with pain and he gritted his teeth, arching his back.
‘I have it,’ Zara said, re-emerging covered in Er Lang’s blood. ‘My Lord Er Lang, I am so very sorry. I vow I will never be a piece of jewellery again.’
‘It’s not your fault, Zara,’ I said.
‘I am cursed!’
Yanluo Wang entered holding a tracheotomy tube in a sterile bag. ‘Sorry. Took a while to find one.’
Don’t bother, Er Lang panted through the blood, his face a fierce grimace of pain. Do me a favour, Ah Wu? You are the quickest and cleanest way.
John hesitated, then glanced up at me. He didn’t want me to know he could do it.
‘Do it, John, I know you can,’ I said.
John dropped his head to speak intensely to Er Lang. ‘You ask a great deal; you know how difficult this is.’
I know. Please, Ah Wu, let me go, Er Lang said.
‘Only for you, old friend,’ John said.
He put two fingers on the side of Er Lang’s throat and concentrated as if taking his pulse. Er Lang’s breathing stopped and he went limp. He disappeared, and his dog fell over his front paws then disappeared as well.
‘Hold your hand out,’ Zara said to John.
He opened his palm and she dropped a tiny, blood-covered micro-SD memory card less than a centimetre to a side into his hand.
‘Will it still work after being soaked like this?’ I said.
‘It’s an expensive waterproof one,’ Zara said. ‘Uh, my Lord, did you just kill him with your touch?’
John didn’t reply.
‘It’s part of what he is,’ I said.
‘You are as cursed as I am, Dark Lord,’ Zara breathed. ‘I am glad it is difficult for you.’
‘It isn’t. The difficulty lies in not killing everything else around me.’ He glared up at her, his voice icy. ‘Do not tell anyone.’
‘My Lord,’ Zara said. ‘Forgive me, I think I’m going to be sick.’ She disappeared.
‘I’ll head over to Court Ten and talk to Judge Pao,’ Yanluo Wang said. ‘We need Er Lang back as quickly as possible now we know they’re about to attack.’
‘Don’t,’ John said, summoning a bubble of water to wash the blood off the SD card. ‘He’ll blame us for the fact we’re at war and delay Er Lang’s release.’
‘He’s not really that uncooperative, is he?’ I said, then raised my hands. ‘Never mind. I know the answer to that.’
John released the bubble and the SD card fell out of the air into his hand. ‘Let’s go back to the Mountain. I think in the very near future I will be needed in three places at once.’
‘You can do that?’ Yanluo Wang said.
‘Best I can manage is two, and right now one of them is slightly stationary,’ John said with grim humour. He leaned on the desk to pull himself to his feet. ‘Pass the message on to the Celestial that I’m on my way. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
He reached and helped me to stand, holding me upright when another wave of dizziness made me hesitate. ‘I’ll take us straight back to the Mountain, Emma, and put us on the bed. We’ll probably be unconscious for a while.’ He raised his head and concentrated. ‘The staff are ready for us.’ He gazed into my eyes. ‘Ready?’
I lost myself in his eyes. ‘Always.’

Wang looked from John to me. ‘You share your thoughts?’
‘No,’ John and I said at the same time, and both of us winced.
‘Maybe the Serpent—’ Wang began.
‘No!’ John and I snapped in unison and shifted uncomfortably, then went still when we realised what we were doing.
Wang was smart enough to leave it there, but it was obvious what he was thinking.
‘She knows everything that’s going on and she’s not putting up with these goddamn painful feet,’ John said. ‘I’m relying on her right now.’
‘Opium could ease—’
‘No,’ John said.
They matched glares for a moment and Wang backed down. He raised his hands. ‘I will ask them for a meeting.’
‘Arrange a time with his assistant, Zara,’ I said. ‘I’m free when he’s free.’
‘Done,’ Wang said. ‘And when the diplomatic talks fail?’
‘We’ll cross that causeway when we come to it,’ John said.
‘If you or one of your Generals can think of a way to get these people out without starting a war, I would appreciate it. It burns to have people who have completed their sentences still being tortured there.’
‘They may just be sitting under a tree doing nothing if all the demons have left,’ I said.
‘They haven’t,’ John said. ‘I can smell them. They’re trying to goad me into going in.’
‘Don’t,’ Wang said. ‘Emma’s right. I thought it would be a good idea for you to go in, but with you in this state . . . it’s not.’
‘I know,’ John said, wiping one hand over his forehead. He took another sip of the water; he was feeling the Serpent’s dehydration and starvation. ‘I’ll ask around quietly and see if we can find someone to investigate down here. Until then, we’ll go with the diplomatic solution first.’
‘I agree with your wise advice,’ Wang said. He pushed the book away. ‘Let me show you out.’
‘Both of us need an hour to rest in the same room to rebuild our strength before we return,’ John said.
‘A whole hour?’ Wang said, looking from John to me.
Neither of us replied.
‘I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.’
‘Good,’ John said.

I sat at the table next to Lily, the court administrator, my mind wandering as I scribbled notes on the pad in front of me. John was holding court in the Hall of Dark Justice in the Northern Heavens, and his dark Celestial Form was grim and forbidding as he sat behind his desk on the dais above us. Minor functionaries from various departments of the bureaucracy that ran the Northern Heavens were complaining about the war preparations and their impact on the budgets.
My head nodded with fatigue as I tried to concentrate on my notes; I had so many things on my to-do list. John was directing the mobilisation of troops in defence of the entire Celestial Plane; Er Lang was travelling the Heavens to ensure the troops were stationed correctly; the Wudang Masters were drilling the armies; and I was helping by handling the operations side.
The student Disciples weren’t usually called into battle, but general agreement was that the seniors could be needed as reinforcements for the Thirty-Six if things became as bad as predicted. That meant I needed to obtain steel for new weapons to be made, and many of the senior Disciples didn’t have armour so that had to be made as well. The forge was working flat out, but a priority schedule would ensure that they produced items according to need rather than in the order they were requisitioned. The steel we had stored behind the forge would run out within a couple of weeks. Supplies of food and water needed to be stockpiled in case the Earthly fell and there was a siege of the Heavens, and when refugees arrived in the Northern Heavens from the evacuation of Hell and the Earthly they would have to be catered for as well . . .
John’s deep voice stopped. The ensuing silence snapped me out of my reverie.
Emma, please go rest. You are not helping and it’s obvious that you’re fading.
I glanced up at him; his face was grim but his eyes were full of concern. I sighed, nodded, pushed my chair back and rose. I bowed and saluted him, he nodded formally in reply, and I went out.
I wandered through the Grand Court of the Northern Celestial Palace, winding my way between the soldiers as they stacked sleeping bags and tent canvas. Nobody had been evacuated into the Northern Heavens yet, but we had to be ready for them. A few soldiers saluted me, grinning, and I returned the courtesy; I’d taught them as juniors.
Someone fell into step beside me and I stopped to see what she wanted. It was one of the demon servants, in black pants and white shirt. She was shorter than me, round and plump with the full rosy cheeks of the mountain people of the West. She appeared in her early twenties, but her demon nature said she was about twelve years old.
‘The Dark Lord sent me to escort you,’ she said, bowing slightly and smiling with pleasure. ‘I am honoured.’
‘What’s your number?’ I said, touched by her enthusiasm.
‘I have taken a name, if it pleases Your Majesty. I am Smally.’
‘I’m not a Majesty, you can call me Emma,’ I said. I turned back towards the gatehouse between the administrative and residential parts of the palace. ‘Where’s Jade?’
She was silent as she walked next to me, her expression stiff with mortification. She didn’t know which Jade I was talking about.
‘The Jade Girl,’ I said, clarifying for her. ‘Princess Jade, Eighty-Second daughter of the Dragon King.’
‘I’m sorry, ma’am,’ Smally said. ‘I’m far too small to be speaking to someone as exalted as her. Someone as exalted as you, as well.’
‘I’m just an ordinary human. Do you know where the Golden Boy is?’
‘No, ma’am,’ she said. She dipped her head as she walked. ‘Perhaps the Dark Lord should have sent someone more senior to escort you. I am useless.’
‘You’re not useless, you can help me,’ I said.
We went through the gatehouse into the residential part of the palace, and the black walls gave way to shades of ochre and khaki, blending into the gardens. The demons had shovelled away the snow and the warm sun reflected off the walls. I sighed as I felt myself relax; the grass and trees were very soothing after the stark black majesty of the administrative section.
‘The Dark Lord suggested that I bring you tea and cookies, and has ordered me to ensure that you rest in the Ancient Dragon Tree Garden,’ the demon said. ‘He says that it is very important for you to eat . . . carbohydrates, I think it is called? Is that acceptable?’
‘I’m not an invalid,’ I said, mildly annoyed at his attitude. Then I took a deep breath; yes, I was.
‘I apologise, my Lady,’ Smally said, ducking her head with misery.
‘I’m not annoyed at you, little one,’ I said, patting her on the arm. ‘The Dark Lord is wrapping me in cotton wool and it chafes.’
‘How can cotton wool chafe? It is soft,’ she said, confused.
I chuckled as we turned right to walk through a moon gate flanked by sculpted pine trees. ‘What are your normal duties?’
‘I boil linen in the laundry.’
‘Could you be spared?’
‘I would have to ask my mistress.’
We arrived at the courtyard between the Emperor’s private residence and the Crown Prince’s residence. Martin and Leo were off somewhere together again, supervising the evacuation of one of the villages and the defence of the orphanage. Simone was in Tokyo, organising her entry into Tokyo University. The quiet settled through the trees and I relaxed further. I hadn’t realised I was so tense.
I sat on the stone bench beneath the famous Dragon Tree. It was believed this ancient tree had been present before the palace was built, and imaginative poets had seen the shape of a dragon in its convoluted trunk. The demons had set up a charcoal brazier next to the tree and its warmth spread through the courtyard. Smally knelt on the pavers next to the bench, head down and obviously deeply uncomfortable to be in the Emperor’s own residential area.
‘The demons in the Residence can give you tea and these magical biscuits that the Dark Lord wants to feed me,’ I said. I gestured towards the wood-framed door with its teak shutters carved with a Buddhist swastika motif. ‘Go in there, around the central courtyard, then left and into the kitchen. The head demon there is Thirty-Eight; she’ll look after you.’
Smally rose and bobbed her head. ‘I will return directly, ma’am.’ She took a deep breath, straightened, and strode through the door into the house.
Rest, love, John said. Please. For me. Don’t work, read a book or something. Relax. Whatever you need to do can wait a couple of hours and you need a break. We have to go to Hell later this afternoon.
I sighed and leaned back against the bench, wincing as my insides twinged with the movement. I should have healed by now. Another trip to Hell was all I needed.
Thirty-Eight came into the courtyard with Smally trailing behind her. Smally had brought cushions and fussed over me as she positioned them around me. She put a blanket on my lap, and Thirty-Eight placed a rosewood table in front of me with a steaming pot of tea and some tiny southeastern provincial biscuits, oval and one centimetre across with a star-shaped dollop of pastel-coloured icing on the top.
Thirty-Eight stood back and studied me, her hands in her sleeves. ‘Anything you need, ma’am, you send the little one.’
‘I need less fussing,’ I said.
Thirty-Eight ignored me and went back into the house.
Smally poured a cup of tea, then tucked the blanket around me. She stood back and nodded, then a swift expression of pain crossed her face. ‘I should go, I am probably needed back in the laundry.’
‘Would you rather stay?’
She brightened. ‘I would be honoured if you would permit me to stay and serve you. I promise to be quiet, ma’am, and I will pour the tea for you and make sure you are warm.’
‘I’d like that very much,’ I said. ‘The rest of the family are all over the place doing stuff and I’m stuck tagging along with His Royal Grumpiness until I’m a hundred per cent.’
Her eyes went wide and her mouth fell open, then she giggled behind her hand. ‘You really call him that?’
‘Among other things,’ I said, and crunched into a biscuit. ‘Can you read, Smally?’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ she said, her expression full of pride.
‘Find my ereader on my bedside table?’ I said, pointing at the doorway. ‘In there, first on the right.’
‘In your bedroom?’ she said, breathless. ‘The Emperor’s own bedroom? Am I allowed?’
‘You are if I say you are. The ereader has a black slipcover with my name in silver on it and a ridiculous number of silly blue stars that Simone drew all over it with a puff pen,’ I said. ‘You can’t miss it.’
Smally nodded. ‘Yes, ma’am.’ She took a deep breath and marched into the house again.
I relaxed onto the cushions, enjoying the quiet. I smiled when Smally squealed. She’d found the mess. She was subdued when she returned, probably with disbelief. She handed me the ereader, poured me some more tea, checked my blanket, then knelt on the stones, head bowed.
I opened to the book I’d been reading, then changed my mind. I couldn’t sit and read with her quiet and unmoving on the ground like that. I changed to a different book that I hadn’t read yet, set it at the start, and held it out to Smally.
‘Can you find yourself a chair and read it to me?’ I said.
She nodded, and took the ereader from me. She looked at the screen, turning it in her hands.
‘Do this to go forward one page. This to go back,’ I said, showing her.
‘This is in English?’
‘Yes. Can you read it anyway? You should be able to, we’re on the Celestial Plane.’
‘I can.’ She shook her head. ‘I can’t believe it. I’m reading in English to the Dark Lady.’
I picked up my teacup and threw a couple of biscuits into my mouth, then waved towards the house. ‘Go find yourself something to sit on; the stones are cold.’
She went back into the house and returned with a low stool, only about fifteen centimetres high. I opened my mouth to tell her to find something more comfortable, then gave up; I didn’t have the energy for that particular argument. She sat on the stool next to my feet, ready to read.
‘Skip the parts in italics, read from the beginning there,’ I said.
‘Yes, ma’am. God a was he said and Mahasamatman him called followers his . . .’ She stopped, confused.
‘English is read left to right,’ I said.
‘Oh, sorry, ma’am,’ she said, and proceeded to read it the right way around.
I settled back to listen, well aware that John had finally won the battle to appoint a personal demon maid for me. At least now he’d stop making terrible jokes about the state of the closet.
Two hours later, John hobbled through the moon gate into the garden. He was in human form and leaning on a walking stick. He stopped when he saw Smally reading to me, and smiled slightly. I nodded; he’d won. He inclined his head in acknowledgement. I looked down at the walking stick then up at him, and he looked me up and down as well. His hair was greying and his face was lined, making him appear sixty years old. We both smiled slightly; he appeared as old as I felt.
Smally was still reading, unaware of the silent communication that had passed between us. John edged further into the courtyard, his feet obviously bothering him, and Smally stopped and glanced up. Her eyes widened with horror and she shot to her feet, then fell to her knees and touched her forehead to the grass.
‘Wen sui, wen sui, wen wen sui,’ she said, her voice quivering. She was shaking.
‘Rise,’ John said. ‘What is your designation, little one?’
She lifted her torso but remained on her knees, hunched over with terror. ‘I am Two Hundred and Ninety-Seven, Celestial Highness.’
‘Her name’s Smally, John, and she’s perfect. Thank you for finding her. She’s wasted in the laundry.’
Smally shot a quick, delighted glance at me, then audibly gulped and turned back to carefully study the grass.
‘We have to be in Hell in half an hour,’ John said. ‘Something’s not right, Emma. I think you should suit up.’
Smally tittered, then choked.
‘You understand the reference?’ John asked her.
She fell over her knees again, desperate. ‘I apologise for laughing, Highness, it will not happen again.’
‘Don’t be afraid. He thinks you’re cute,’ I said.
‘Smally, Emma needs to put her armour on. Help her to do it up,’ John said. ‘I will sit here and wait. Have Thirty-Eight bring me fresh tea and some fruit.’
‘Come on, Smally,’ I said, pulling myself up from the bench. ‘The old man’s right, I could use your help with the buckles and the robe always goes wrong.’
Smally climbed to her feet and kept her head down as she escorted me to the doorway. She snuck a glance back as John lowered himself to sit on the bench, leaning heavily on the walking stick. He shooed her away with one hand and she flitted to join me.
In the bedroom, I pulled my jeans off and threw them on the bed. Smally turned away, embarrassed.
‘You have to help me, and you can’t help if you’re not looking,’ I said, sorting through my wardrobe to find my robe and black pants.
She turned back and I handed her the robe, then pulled the pants on.
‘Ma’am, your staff here are lax and should be reprimanded,’ Smally said as she helped me into the robe. ‘This untidiness is completely unacceptable for someone as senior as you.’
‘They’re not allowed to touch it,’ I said.
‘But your beautiful clothes . . .’ She stopped as she realised that I didn’t own anything that could be remotely considered beautiful. ‘Your clothes are crushed here.’
‘While I’m in Hell you can sort them out for me,’ I said. ‘But on one condition.’
‘Anything. I would love to be of assistance,’ she said.
‘You will have to know exactly where everything is the minute I need it. I like being able to grab stuff quickly. I don’t have time to waste messing around with my wardrobe.’
‘That will not be a problem, ma’am,’ she said, quietly delighted. ‘This will be sorted when you return from Hell and you will have no trouble finding anything.’ She glanced around. ‘Where is your armour?’
I gestured towards the wall next to the wardrobe doors. ‘Walk through there.’
She hesitated, unsure, and I took her by the hand and led her through the wall. John’s battledress and my black enamel armour sat on wooden dummies in the small room behind.
Smally turned back to where we’d come through the wall. ‘I would never have known that was there.’
‘That’s the idea,’ I said, lifting the armour off its stand. ‘Help me get this damn thing done up, will you? He won’t want to be late.’
‘He looks unwell, ma’am, is he all right? We rely on him,’ she said as she helped me into the armour.
‘Nobody is to know that he requires the walking stick,’ I said. ‘If you tell anyone he will be extremely upset. Nobody must know.’
‘I understand, ma’am, you can trust me.’
We would see. John was obviously testing her ability to stay quiet, but it would be a major concern if word went out about his feet.
‘Did you order him the tea and fruit?’ I said, and her eyes widened. I patted her on the arm. ‘Just tell Thirty-Eight and she’ll do it. Ask her to bring him some pain-killing medicine as well.’
She nodded, obviously communicating, then snapped back and studied my armour, her voice thick. ‘I’ve only been working for you for an hour and I’ve already ruined my chances of staying.’
‘No, you haven’t. You’ve been very useful already, and I’ll keep you around at least for the next week or so. Talk to Thirty-Eight about having quarters allocated here in the Residence.’
She lit up, her smile wide with joy that made me feel good as well.
‘I thought your armour appeared out of nowhere,’ she said, glancing back at John’s battledress.
‘I can’t do that. He can, but right now it’s easier for him to have some physical armour standing by so he can pull it to him.’
‘I never knew he could become weak like this,’ she said, her voice soft. ‘It’s very scary.’
‘I know.’
‘He thinks I’m cute?’ she said as she helped me with the buckles. She stopped for a moment. ‘If I was to work here, would part of my duties . . . I mean, it’s an honour, ma’am, I understand that it’s often part of the duties . . .’ She flushed and busied herself with the buckles. ‘I don’t mind, really, it’s an honour.’
It was a valid question to ask any traditional Empress; it was the Empress’s job to provide the Emperor with as many sexual partners as he required. Expressing any anger at what she’d suffered in Hell would probably make her shut down in self-defence so I deliberately kept my voice very even when I answered.
‘I understand what you’re asking, Smally, and no, that won’t happen here. Has it happened to you before?’
She shuddered, making herself busy to cover it. ‘I was a small demon in Hell, and I was noticed by one of the Princes.’ She nodded to herself, choosing her words carefully. ‘He singled me out for special attention and told me that I was honoured. I did feel honoured; I never thought I’d be pretty enough to gain anyone’s attention. But what he did . . .’ She took a deep breath. ‘I took a chance and escaped with my nest mates to join the Dark Lord. I never thought I’d make it, and here I am.’
‘Was this about ten or twelve years ago?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
‘I remember that.’ I smiled as she tightened the buckles. ‘A whole bunch of you turned up on our doorstep. We didn’t know what to do with you all.’
‘We worked hard to rebuild the beautiful Mountain,’ she said with pride. ‘The Dark Lord treated us with care, and we did our best to repay his kindness. When the rebuilding was complete, they even asked where we would like to be assigned! It was so different . . .’ Her voice trailed off.
‘Nothing that happened in Hell will ever happen here, Smally. We will protect all of you and treat you with respect.’
She visibly relaxed and let out a tiny sigh of relief. ‘Sometimes, ma’am, I stop and think: today, nobody will hurt me, nobody will do anything bad to me. I don’t have to be afraid.’ She wiped her eyes. ‘Sometimes I just stop and . . . relish the feeling of being happy. It’s something I thought I would never have.’
‘Since the Dark Lord came back, I feel the same way.’
‘You’ve been hurt too, ma’am?’ she said, wide-eyed.
‘Nothing compared to what you’ve suffered, but it’s wonderful to have the Dark Lord back after so many years alone.’ I raised my arms and swung them, and the armour didn’t pinch anywhere. ‘Good job. Can you put my hair up in the ebony spike for me?’
‘I can do your make-up, ma’am,’ she said, pleased, ‘and put ornaments in your hair.’
‘No make-up, no ornaments, just the spike.’
‘What, like a man?’ she said. ‘You should have a prettier hairstyle than that. Something more decorative. I would be delighted to put your hair into a feminine style, I have practised.’ She studied my hair. ‘Some gold ornaments and a comb would be much more suitable for someone of your rank.’
I tapped the breastplate. ‘I’m a warrior.’
‘But with no make-up, you’ll look like a man. They let you dress as a man?’ she said. ‘I didn’t realise—I mean, I know you wear armour and you’re a warrior, but dressed like this you look like a man.’
‘I’m not dressed as a man,’ I said. ‘I’m dressed as me. I’m not here to be decorative, I’m here to do a job. Come on.’ I walked back through the wall and sat at the dressing table. ‘Put it up and put the spike through it.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ she said. She shook her head as she pulled my hair up. ‘You are turning everything upside down. You make the world look so different. I feel like I don’t know anything any more.’
‘Then you’re probably ready to begin learning,’ I said.
I pulled my Doc Martens on, and Smally laced one while I laced the other. When we were done we went back out to the courtyard, where John was waiting for us with a sliced nashi pear and some grapes in front of him. We shared a nod and I went to him.
He stood with effort, leaning on the stick, and glanced over my shoulder at Smally. ‘Return to your duties.’
Smally’s voice was soft with disappointment. ‘At the laundry?’
‘No,’ John said.
I turned to her. ‘Smally, you were planning to clean out my closet. We’ll be a while so take your time.’
Smally lit up and bowed low with a huge grin. ‘My Lady.’ She spun and nearly skipped back into the house.
I turned back to John. ‘All set?’
‘Just arranging a private place to land.’ I waited for a moment, and then he nodded. ‘Fixed.’
He held his hand out to me and I took it. We stood, hands clasped, gazing into each other’s eyes, then the world spun and I blacked out.
I came around on a simple coconut-fibre mattress laid on the floor in a bare room. John was sitting cross-legged next to me, and nobody else was present. I sat up, then lowered my head as a moment of dizziness took me. I breathed deeply, aware of his concerned attention, then sat back up and shook out my shoulders.
‘How long was I out?’
‘Half an hour.’ He took his hair out, leaned forward, tied it into a topknot then tossed it back. ‘I was out for fifteen minutes.’
‘Are you okay?’
He nodded, his dark eyes full of restrained emotion. ‘You aren’t.’
‘I’ll get there.’
I leaned on the wall to pull myself upright, my insides protesting, then bent as another wave of dizziness made the room spin. I carefully levered myself to vertical, then waited for John. He did exactly the same thing, also stopping before he could be completely upright. He concentrated and grew to his mid-forties form wearing his black robe and armour, same as me.
Yanluo Wang, Lord of the Underworld, opened the door and poked his head around. ‘My Lord.’
‘We’re ready,’ John said.
Wang looked from John to me, his expression carefully controlled, then opened the door wider. ‘This way.’
When we arrived in his office, Wang leaned on the back of his big leather executive chair and put one hand out towards John. ‘Surely you can take True Form or come through the Courts? This must be driving you crazy.’
‘The damage is to the Serpent, and it’s infected,’ John said, grimacing with pain as he sat. ‘Even if the Turtle goes through the Courts the damage will still be there. We have to make a hard decision: give me antibiotics in the hope that they’ll transfer to the Serpent, or let me suffer and hope that I die of it.’ He corrected himself. ‘The Serpent dies of it.’
‘I understand your nature. What are the demons doing about it? Are they treating it?’
John leaned on the table and rubbed his eyes. ‘They hadn’t been in the holding pen in months. I was totally unprepared when they came in and chopped my tail off, and I haven’t seen them since. I sincerely wish my Serpent was a small enough Shen to die of starvation.’
Wang quickly went to the door of his office and poked his head out to talk to someone, then sat behind the desk. ‘Can you use donor energy to rebuild yourself?’
‘I would drain any donor,’ John said. ‘They would be gone.’
‘I used to wonder why the Ancients talked about the Jade Emperor’s multiple souls,’ I said.
‘The Celestial hasn’t done it in a very long time,’ Wang said. ‘It is very much a last resort, because it takes him a century of solitude and meditation to extricate the life force and release it again.’ He tapped the table. ‘Find a willing donor. Pay the price later.’
‘I don’t know how to extricate them,’ John said. ‘If I take them, they’re gone.’
‘This just gets better and better,’ Wang said grimly. ‘How many souls have you consumed in the past, Ah Wu? Surely the Jade Emperor taught you the technique when you did it?’
‘I have never done it,’ John said with fierce dignity.
‘Never? What about before you turned to the Celestial? I’ve heard the stories.’
John’s face was rigid with restraint. ‘That was not me. Here and now I am the Celestial Xuan Wu, and I have never drained anyone’s life force.’
‘But a couple of years ago you absorbed the Heavenly Star . . .’ Wang said, glancing at me.
‘The Star gave me his energy and reverted to a mindless nature spirit. I did not absorb him completely,’ John said.
‘I see.’ Wang rubbed his chin. ‘The reason I’ve called you in here is a very high-security matter, but I’m sure you won’t be too surprised when you hear what it is.’
One of his assistants, wearing a Qing-style robe in black with a red border, brought a massive book into the office and put it in front of Wang. Another assistant placed a jug of water and some glasses on the table. Both of them bowed to us and went out.
‘Holy shit, is that the book?’ I said.
It was thirty centimetres to a side and twenty thick, with a heavy dark brown leather cover and pages stained by age to a similar colour.
‘You’re not supposed to see it,’ Wang said with amusement.
John poured himself a glass of water and drank it quickly. ‘Show her where Sun Wu Kong defaced it.’
I stared at John. ‘He really did that?’
‘Damn monkey,’ Wang growled. He opened the book on the table, then held his hand over it and the pages flipped backwards and forwards by themselves. They settled onto a page with a red ink-brush stain and splotches across it. ‘He was Immortal already, he’d learned to dance the stars and ride the wind, and he came down here and defaced the book anyway. Asshole.’
‘So he crossed his name out?’ I said.
‘In vermilion ink, insulting the Jade Emperor at the same time,’ Wang said.
‘Stupid bastard crossed out the wrong name too,’ John said. ‘That’s not him.’
‘Yeah, this is a kid born on Hainan Island who had the same name,’ Wang said. ‘Gained Immortality through a clerical error.’
‘So what’s the problem now?’ John said, raising his glass of water at Wang. ‘I assume the demons haven’t tried the defences yet. What’s going on?’
Wang held his hand over the book and the pages flipped again. It stopped and he read down the characters. ‘It’s very reassuring to have some of the Thirty-Six here, but I’m beginning to wonder if their first assault will be Celestial Hell after all.’
‘It will be. If they can control all of Hell, every one of us who dies will be trapped here. It has to be their first strategic target.’
‘There don’t seem to be any of them left on the demonic side at all,’ Wang said. ‘They’ve stopped releasing people from the Pits.’
‘What?’ John said, his voice flat.
Wang tapped the book. ‘Here’s one. Went in mid-Qing Dynasty. Sentenced by every single court; he was a nasty piece of work. Bribed and murdered his way to provincial governor: he killed people and took over their positions, then raped and murdered their wives and children. Raped three babies to death. Embezzled fifteen million yuan from his citizens. Allowed health care and infrastructure to fall into ruin while he lived a lavish lifestyle of cruelty and excess. I watched with a great deal of satisfaction as he was released from each level only to be sentenced by the Courts to suffer in the next.’ He looked up at John. ‘Was due to be released last week after two hundred and fifty years of torture. Never came out. Nobody’s been released from the demonic side in two months.’
‘How many haven’t been released?’ John said.
‘Four.’
‘How many are still in there?’
‘One thousand, three hundred and . . .’ Wang checked the book. ‘Seventeen.’ He looked up at John. ‘We need to get them out. Their sentences are complete. You could go undercover and find your Serpent at the same time.’
‘The JE won’t let him,’ I said. ‘If both of him are trapped, we’ll lose for sure.’
‘So what do we do?’ Wang said.
‘Try a diplomatic solution first; we’re the good guys here,’ I said. ‘Give the King a chance to do the right thing. Call him or a senior lieutenant for a meeting on neutral ground halfway across the first causeway, and try to talk them into releasing the people who are due.’
‘My Lord?’
‘Emma speaks for me; she always knows what I’m thinking and right now she has twice the brains I do. If I am silent I agree with her and you do not need to confirm with me.’

‘Mummy.’
I slithered through the tunnels, listening for the baby’s call. A light ahead made me lift my serpent snout.
‘Muu . . . my.’
I went through an archway into a Nest chamber. A huge demon egg, four metres across, sat in the middle of the nest hollow, glowing gently. The child inside had the bright, hard eyes of a tiny foetus, and undeveloped hands waved in front of its huge, misshapen head. Its fish-like gills opened and closed, and its heart was visible beating in its ridged chest.
‘Mummy.’
‘You don’t exist,’ I said. ‘The biggest you could have been was three months, and that’s not big enough to survive.’ I dropped my serpent head. ‘You didn’t make it.’
‘I made it!’ the child said. ‘I’m in an egg and growing.’ Its voice changed to pain. ‘Why did you leave me?’
‘Because you died. You’re not alive, and this is a dream. I have this dream all the time because I want you to be alive.’
‘I want to be with you, Mummy,’ the child said, its eyes unblinking. It put its hands against the inside of the shell, pushing it towards me. The egg rolled and the baby shifted inside so that it stayed upright.
I turned to move away and heard it behind me. I looked back and it was descending on me. It would crush me.
‘You’re not real!’ I shouted at it, slithering for the door as fast as my body would take me. The egg wouldn’t fit through the doorway, it was too massive. If I could make it through, it couldn’t follow me. ‘You died!’
I felt its cold touch on my tail and jerked upright with a huge gasp.
I was sitting in our bed on the Mountain, the fire in the fireplace burned down to softly glowing coals. John was next to me, his face peaceful in sleep.
I fell back onto the pillow. Even though I was aware of the dream when I was in it, it was still terrifying. I’d checked and double-checked with the medical staff as well as the demon masters. Everybody was sure that it was impossible for a three-month-old foetus to live, but there was always that tiny niggling doubt, and as long as it existed the dream would trouble me.
I pulled the silk quilt back over me. John and I had fallen asleep naked, skin to skin, after a warm evening of gentle lovemaking. I snuggled next to him, glad he hadn’t woken, and stretched my feet under the quilt.
I felt something cold and slippery with my feet and stopped, filled with dread. Carefully, so I didn’t wake John, I pulled the quilt off my feet; they were covered in blood. Trying to control the nausea, I lifted the quilt from John’s legs. They’d cut the ends of his feet off. Blood covered everything and the sight sent me over the edge.
I rushed to the end of the bed, leaned over it and threw up on the floor. Horrified at myself and even more horrified at John’s feet, I tapped the stone.
‘What?’ it said, its voice sluggish.
I retched a few times as I held the stone over John’s feet. I wiped my mouth on a clean corner of the quilt.
‘By all the Buddhas,’ the stone said, its voice soft with dismay. ‘Give me a moment.’
I went back up the bed to John’s face and put my hand on his forehead. He was unconscious, breathing gently, but his eyes were moving rapidly under his eyelids. They’d knocked him out but he was obviously feeling it.
‘Edwin’s on his way. Put something on,’ the stone said.
My side of the bed was against the wall, so I was forced to climb over John to get out. I clambered carefully over him, unwilling to do any energetic moves that might disturb him, found his black silk robe and pulled it around me, the fresh scent of the ocean rising from it. I attempted to roll up the sleeves but they wouldn’t go so I gave up. The bottom of the robe brushed the floor.
Edwin tapped on the door and came in, then stopped when he saw John. ‘Can you carry him?’
‘I’m strong enough to lift him but he’s too big for me to carry,’ I said. ‘He drags on the floor. Bring a stretcher.’
Edwin moved to go out again but the stone stopped him.
‘I have it,’ the stone said. ‘A couple of demons are coming to carry him to the infirmary.’
John made a soft sound in his throat and his face twisted.
‘He’s coming around, tell them to hurry,’ I said.
‘They’re downstairs,’ the stone said.
John’s eyes snapped open and he bellowed with pain, arching his back. He clawed at the sheets then covered the entire bed with ice. The demons entered, and hesitated when they saw he was naked.
‘John,’ I said, moving closer. ‘John, it’s me, Emma. Edwin’s here. Let us take you to the infirmary.’
The ice exploded outwards. I threw my arms in front of my face and some of the shards sliced my forearms with shallow cuts. John yelled again, then lay rigid, panting with effort.
‘I’m . . . here,’ John said.
‘You okay, Edwin?’ I said.
‘Not hit. You?’
‘Nothing major.’ I pulled the bloodied quilt over John to cover his nakedness. ‘Bring the stretcher.’
The demons crept closer as John flopped back.
‘Holy shit, this hurts!’ he said. ‘What the hell did they do to me?’
I lifted him to slide him onto the stretcher. ‘They cut half your feet off, love.’
His eyes widened as I settled him onto the stretcher. ‘I won’t be able to balance to fight.’
‘That’s the least of your problems,’ Edwin said. He nodded to the demons. ‘Bring him.’
I adjusted the robe around me and followed them.
‘Can he take True Form and fix this?’ Edwin said as we placed John onto the hospital bed. The quilt slipped off and I threw it to one side and replaced it with a clean sheet.
‘No, he might rejoin.’ I put my hand on his forehead. ‘Do you need pain relief?’
‘That would be good,’ John said, his expression strained. I put my hands on either side of his head and he grabbed my wrists. ‘Not you.’
I looked up at one of the demons. ‘Tell Master Meredith what’s happened.’
Edwin put on a surgical mask and gloves, then filled a syringe. ‘This will help.’ He injected it into the bottom of John’s feet and pulled a trolley closer. He mopped at the blood. ‘They cut right through the middle of your feet; all your toes are gone.’
‘They cut the end of my tail off,’ John said. ‘It will take months to grow it back if I can’t take True Form.’
Edwin glanced up from his cleaning effort. ‘I didn’t know you could grow back body parts.’
‘Normally I’m in Court Ten before the process begins,’ John said. He took a deep breath. ‘That’s working. Maybe don’t wake Meredith up.’
‘Too late,’ Meredith said as she and her husband, Liu, came into the infirmary, both wearing old-fashioned flannel pyjamas with tartan dressing gowns over the top. She stopped when she saw his feet. ‘Bloody hell.’
‘How the hell are you supposed to practise the Arts like this?’ Liu said, studying his feet. ‘Your balance will be completely ruined. You may even need sticks to walk, like a woman with bound feet.’
‘I know,’ John said, sounding desperate. ‘I need to see how bad it is.’
‘The Demon King used to be a human girl. She had her feet bound,’ I said.
‘They’ve done the same thing to him,’ Meredith said, understanding.
‘No, they cut the end of my tail off,’ John said. ‘Hurry up, Edwin, just roughly clean it up. I want to see if my Celestial Form is injured as well.’
‘No. This will take at least an hour. I want to make sure it’s a tidy amputation and there’s no infection,’ Edwin said.
‘There won’t be any infection. I’m a god and we’re on the fucking Celestial Plane,’ John growled. ‘Just slap some hot tar on them and leave it. I need to see if my Celestial Form is damaged!’
Pain and shock making him irritable, Meredith said, and I nodded.
John raised himself on one elbow and glared up at her. ‘Nobody speaks silently in my presence.’
‘Shut up, I’m working on tying off the blood vessels,’ Edwin said, unfazed. ‘Give me any grief and I’ll put you under.’
‘Try me,’ John said, then flopped back and closed his eyes.
‘Send someone to wake my assistant, I need him to run suction,’ Edwin said.
‘I’ll get him,’ Liu said, and went out.
A shout went up outside. Every Disciple on the Mountain had gathered at the Great Court in front of True Way to perform the morning energy-work set.
John’s eyebrows bunched together over his closed eyes. ‘I need to be out there.’
‘Audrey has it,’ Meredith said.
‘They need to see me. They need reassuring.’
‘They will. Tomorrow,’ Edwin said. ‘Keep still, dammit!’
An hour later, the Lius had left for the morning meeting and Edwin tied off the last suture.
He leaned back. ‘How’s the pain?’
‘Nonexistent,’ John said.
Edwin glanced at me and I shrugged. We were both accustomed to him lying about things like this.
‘All right, up you get,’ Edwin said. ‘Expect some dizziness from the blood loss. And take it slowly.’
John sat up and levered himself over the edge of the bed to stand leaning on it. I handed him some clothes. He pulled the black cotton pants on without underwear, then stopped when the waistband was at his hips. He’d have to stand free of the bed to pull the pants on all the way.
He spoke to Edwin over his shoulder. ‘Leave me.’
‘No,’ Edwin said. ‘I want to see how much physical therapy you’ll need.’
John sighed gently and rubbed one hand over his face. I held my forearm out to support him, and he stared at it for a full minute before relenting and taking it with one hand. He leaned on me while he stood, his expression intense as he worked out how affected his balance was. He released my arm and pulled his pants all the way up, tying the waist string.
He nodded to me and I moved back. He dropped his head and concentrated, and his form shimmered. His expression grew more intense, his eyes closed, and his edges blurred then solidified. He stood straighter; his feet were okay. I breathed a sigh of relief.
‘Excellent . . . What?’ Edwin said.
John shimmered again and went solid; his feet had reverted. He gave up and sagged. The damage was to his True Form and, like the other injuries the Demon King had inflicted on his Serpent, was too significant for him to heal in his human form for more than a couple of minutes.
John swayed from side to side, then forward to back. He took a hesitant step, and his face filled with triumph as he took a couple more. He was obviously having difficulty with his balance but he could move. He gingerly performed the first few moves of a hand-to-hand set, then stopped and nodded.
He glanced at Edwin. ‘Nice job.’
‘Take Celestial Form,’ Edwin said. ‘Do it without shoes so we’ll be able to tell immediately.’
‘Back, Emma,’ John said, and I gave him room.
He took full dark ugly Celestial Form, still in just a plain pair of black pants. His hair came out and writhed around his head, and he had to stoop to fit under the ceiling of the infirmary.
‘Shit,’ he said softly. The ends of his feet were still gone.
‘Go down to the Grotto for a couple of hours and take True Form,’ I said.
‘The Serpent is in too much pain. I wouldn’t be able to resist its call,’ he said, shifting back to his usual human form.
Edwin came around to check that the stitches were still in his feet, then moved back, satisfied. ‘Back on the table and I’ll wrap them up,’ he said.
John levered himself back up to sit while Edwin bandaged his feet.
‘Can you fly everywhere instead of walking?’ Edwin said.
‘No,’ John said, and didn’t elaborate.
‘Don’t walk too much, you’ll open up the stitches,’ Edwin said. ‘I’d like to put them in plaster casts but I know you won’t let me. Just understand this.’ He looked John in the eye. ‘It will take a few weeks for them to heal to the stage where the stitches won’t be blown open by vigorous activity; and if you open them up too many times, I’ll have to trim your feet back even further to have a clean seal.’
I sighed softly. It would be nearly impossible to stop John from practising.
‘Most of what I’m doing right now is administration and planning,’ John said, his voice low. ‘Not a problem.’
Edwin and I shared a shocked look, and I shrugged again.
Edwin pinned the last of the bandages to John’s feet. ‘Put some slippers over them so the bandages don’t wear. Leo’s should be big enough.’ He leaned back and studied his work. ‘You can walk gently back to the Residence, but try to stay off them otherwise.’
John levered himself off the table and pulled on the Mountain uniform shirt. ‘Come on, Emma, you’re still covered in blood. Let’s clean you up and find something to eat.’
He shuffled towards the door, putting a hand on Edwin’s shoulder as he passed him. ‘Thank you.’
‘My Lord,’ Edwin said, rolling up bandages.
John and I both stopped once we’d cleared the infirmary door.
‘Tell me where you want me,’ I said.
He linked his arm in mine. ‘Does this look normal?’
‘Depends whether the students know or not,’ I said.
He was silent for a moment, checking, then sagged slightly. ‘The household staff had to clean up the mess in our bedroom. They asked the demons who carried me down what happened.’
‘So everybody knows?’
‘Hn.’ He shifted his weight, leaning on my shoulder with one hand instead. ‘I’m not too heavy?’
‘You’re fine. Let’s go to the Residence and you can eat something, then practise getting your balance back.’
‘Not too fast,’ he said, his weight heavy on me as I guided him back to our house.
While John, still weak from blood loss, had a nap, I went to my office. I was looking at the armoury stocks when Yi Hao spoke silently to me. A son of the White Tiger is here to see you, ma’am.
‘Michael?’ I called.
Marcus, husband of our ex-housekeeper, Monica, came in with Yi Hao behind him. ‘No, it’s me, ma’am.’
‘Oh! Come on in, Marcus, I haven’t seen you in ages.’ I nodded to Yi Hao. ‘Make sure I’m not disturbed while we’re talking, and bring us a pot of Western tea or something, will you?’
‘Ma’am,’ Yi Hao said, and went out.
‘Sit, Marcus, sit,’ I said. ‘Why didn’t Monica come as well? We haven’t seen her in a while either.’ I raised the telephone handset. ‘Did you bring her? I can round up Simone and Leo and we can have a family get-together. I’m sorry, we’re always so busy we never seem to have time to talk to you, and we all really miss you both.’
He raised one hand. ‘No need, ma’am, it’s just me, and don’t worry, we understand.’ He sighed gently. ‘Monica’s very sick, ma’am.’
My heart fell. ‘Too sick to come up here?’
‘My brother brought me up to talk to you, but he says that the trip would kill her.’
‘What is it, Marcus?’
‘Cancer. She didn’t tell anyone for a long time; she said she was on a diet and she was happy to be so thin. By the time we made her see a doctor it was too late. It’s so far through her that the doctors don’t even know where it started. She didn’t want me to tell you. She said you were too busy to worry about her.’
I wiped my hand over my eyes. ‘Simone will be devastated. We must go down and see her.’
‘She doesn’t want you to. She doesn’t want you to see her like this.’ His face was full of misery. ‘She’s very bad.’
‘How long does she have?’
His voice thickened. ‘We hope she will have Easter with us.’
‘Oh dear Lord. That’s only a couple of months away.’
‘She doesn’t want any of the family to know, ma’am. She has her sisters and her brothers and all their children around her, and she has me. We know you and the Dark Lord are fighting to protect all of us, and she doesn’t want you to waste your time on her when you could be saving many.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous, she’s family, we have to see her,’ I said. ‘Is she in hospital or at home?’
‘She knew you’d say that.’ He pulled a note out of his pocket and handed it to me.
Ma’am,
I know you will want to rush down and see me but you don’t need to. I have my family all around me and seeing you would only make me very sad. I beg you, please don’t tell them I’m sick. That way I can leave this world happy that you will all remember me the way I was when you were just the nanny and Simone was just a little tiny girl. Tell Mr Chen that I am happy that he found someone new after we lost Miss Michelle, and that someone is as smart and brave as you are. Tell Mister Leo that he is a special man and I hope he is happy; and tell Simone that I love her like my own little girl and I am so proud that she has become something so grand!
Please, ma’am, don’t tell anyone. I really don’t want them to know. I am content. I hope you respect my wishes.
Monica xxx
‘I’ll respect her wishes but it’ll break my heart,’ I said.
‘She will be pleased.’
Yi Hao brought a tea tray in and went out again. I stared at the teapot without moving.
‘Is there anything we can do?’ I said.
‘Just respecting her wishes is enough.’
‘How about financial help to pay the medical expenses?’
‘You already support us like royalty, ma’am. We have everything covered by your generosity, and my mother’s legacy passed on from my father. We’re well established and need for nothing.’
‘Keep me up to date on her situation, Marcus.’ I poured tea for us, more to keep busy than anything else. ‘I just wish she’d seen a doctor before it was so bad. It wouldn’t have progressed if she was up here, and she would have lived much longer.’
‘She wouldn’t come up here anyway, she loves her nieces and nephews too much.’ He smiled slightly. ‘They are all like our own children. We are terribly blessed.’
‘We’ve been blessed to know her. Can I speak to her on the phone?’
‘I think she would love that. And if she could talk to Simone without Simone knowing what’s wrong with her, it would make her very happy. I’ll let you know when’s a good time to call after I’ve returned.’ He rose without touching his tea. ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll head back down. My brother’s waiting for me.’
I nodded to him and he went out. I picked up the note from my desk and ran my hand over Monica’s handwriting. I took a sip of the tea but didn’t really taste it.

‘It doesn’t like Hell.’